Topic: Arthur Melo

[Red Raw]

Gonna guess Thiago is in red, as he likely wouldn't be getting assists. I think it would be a lot easier to tell them apart if defensive charts were shown

Arthur does indeed profile much weaker defensively than Thiago so it seems unlikely that he would provide cover for Fabinho as Henderson does so that is one area which might still need a bit of a re-think.

[HardworkDedication]

He does seem to like turning opposition players inside out.

He looks like the ultimate press resistant player. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he performs under Klopp. I know there are concerns about his work off the ball but I believe our coaching staff will improve this aspect of his game.

On the ball I think we will control games better as we have a problem with this part of our game when Thiago is missing. He really does looks excellent in keeping possession.

[classycarra]

This compilation of Mello is quite impressive.

<a href="https://youtube.com/v/Qux6pqIZL1E" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://youtube.com/v/Qux6pqIZL1E</a>

He's got a mad centre of gravity, very distinguishable. Also in these highlights (of when it works out), his dribbling and holding off pressure is quite impressive, especially when you factor in how incredibly one footed he is

[Samie]

[Red Raw]

He's got a mad centre of gravity, very distinguishable. Also in these highlights (of when it works out), his dribbling and holding off pressure is quite impressive, especially when you factor in how incredibly one footed he is

I'm looking forward to seeing him play but when you look at the bottom right radar above its almost like he doesn't even have a left foot.

[classycarra]

I'm looking forward to seeing him play but when you look at the bottom right radar above its almost like he doesn't even have a left foot.

I can't see where that comes up, but am at least reassured I didn't make it up from my limited viewings!

[stoopid yank]

Christ - some of you lot don't deserve what we've had over the past 5 years!

Spend the entire window moaning we need a midfielder, we get one and now you moan he's not the right one.

Granted it's been left late and isn't entirely ideal but still!

We've got an extra body in the middle, who's been signed previously by two of the biggest clubs in Europe and played for one of the strongest NT's on the planet.

The lad obviously has something about him and I back Klopp to get it out.

Agreed. A brazilian international who played for Barcelona and Juventus, on loan.. and turning their noses up.

I guess I am an old fart, but I remember once spending 10 million for a slow, one footed scottish lump from Blackpool with the head of Elmer Fudd. People today would have lost their f#cking minds...

[El Lobo]

Agreed. A brazilian international who played for Barcelona and Juventus, on loan.. and turning their noses up.

I guess I am an old fart, but I remember once spending 10 million for a slow, one footed scottish lump from Blackpool with the head of Elmer Fudd. People today would have lost their f#cking minds...

Fucking hell there’s risking the wrath of Fordy and then there’s this!

[Red Raw]

I can't see where that comes up, but am at least reassured I didn't make it up from my limited viewings!

Haha - well your eyes didn't deceive you. The Pass Types radar includes 'Passes Atmptd (Left)' (at about 7 o'clock) which is 2.7 per 90 (among the bottom 10 percent for midfielders) compared to 75.8 per 90 with his right (98th percentile). Thiago is a bit better at 6.4 per 90 (44th percentile) with 82.9 per 90 on his right (99th percentile).

Simple numbers don't give the whole story obviously but in this case it seems to confirm a bit of what has been seen.

[Eeyore]

He looks like the ultimate press resistant player. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he performs under Klopp. I know there are concerns about his work off the ball but I believe our coaching staff will improve this aspect of his game.

On the ball I think we will control games better as we have a problem with this part of our game when Thiago is missing. He really does looks excellent in keeping possession.

That is the issue though.

If you want to improve a players off the ball work then you work them hard in pre-season training and use the warm up games to get the player accustomed to your pressing triggers.

[Red Beret]

Nah that was Steve Conway

This was Dave Harris from Minder played by Glynn Edwards

He also appeared on Heart of Lothian by Marillion

I have just rewatched the scene on YouTube and you are absolutely correct. My bad.

But bloody hell, change from a fiver for half a dozen pints!

[Ghost Town]

Nah that was Steve Conway

This was Dave Harris from Minder played by Glynn Edwards

He also appeared on Heart of Lothian by Marillion

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/9pkyZhlK8Q0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/9pkyZhlK8Q0</a>

Flippin eck. That's a bit of a grim crowd in that boozer.

Same faces tomorrow at the pit, I expect

[Wabaloolah]

Well I'm pleased we've got someone in, noticeable how he didn't go for the number 10 shirt which is available, looks like we are saving that for someone 😉

[darragh85]

really rated him when he was at Barcelona. think it was a massive disappointment  for him when they sold him and possibly hasnt recovered since.

reckon Klopp will get him going again,  you dont lose that quality. our Brazilian contingent will help him settle also.

[Oh Jimmy Jimmy]

Agreed. A brazilian international who played for Barcelona and Juventus, on loan.. and turning their noses up.

I guess I am an old fart, but I remember once spending 10 million for a slow, one footed scottish lump from Blackpool with the head of Elmer Fudd. People today would have lost their f#cking minds...

Brilliant. I’m remember seeing Charlie dominate that Blackpool win at Anfield  in Sept 10 and thinking what a great old Skool play maker. A bit like when Lawro wrapped himself around Kenny as a Brighton player 30 year earlier and we sign him on the back of that performance, or Walshy in the 6-0 drubbing. Turns out to be Charlie’s only good game at Anfield.

Arthur is a great signing btw, a potentially great player who needs to find the right home. also means Ox is excluded from our PL and CL squads.

[Flaccido Dongingo]

Brilliant. I’m remember seeing Charlie dominate that Blackpool win at Anfield  in Sept 10 and thinking what a great old Skool play maker. A bit like when Lawro wrapped himself around Kenny as a Brighton player 30 year earlier and we sign him on the back of that performance, or Walshy in the 6-0 drubbing. Turns out to be Charlie’s only good game at Anfield.

Arthur is a great signing btw, a potentially great player who needs to find the right home. also means Ox is excluded from our PL and CL squads.

Thanks for reminding me that we paid Ł10m for Charlie fucking Adam.

[El Denzel Pepito]

He reminds me an awful lot of Kovacic at Chelsea. It would be interesting to see how the two compare on one of those graphs.

[Yorkykopite]

He's a beautiful footballer, no doubt of that.

I've no idea why it didn't work out for him at Juve. It's a poor league and they are not a particularly good team. Barcelona is easier of course. It's a club in crisis and they have a serial record of failing to exploit the talents of great midfield players - from Fabregas and Coutinho to Arthur and Thiago Alcantara.

The question marks with Arthur are obvious. Where was his pre-season? How is his injury record? Can he hack it in the Premier League? But his talent isn't in question. A genuinely brilliant footballer who, if things work for him at Liverpool under the the best coach in the world, will supply many breathtaking moments.

I can't wait to see him.

[Samie]

[the_red_pill]

Like others have indicated- he seems to be a very good footballer and by the looks of it, a decent and tidy player, especially under a press - but it just "hasn't worked out for him".
Why?
A player, especially a midfielder with such stats in any team would surely be one of the guaranteed starters? I mean that's Gini/Thiago levels of performance- if he was at Liverpool.
"Possession Won in middle 3rd" is very interesting as he's 1st in that dept. A passer with DM-type numbers. That will certainly be very useful for us- especially now.

This is strange. Or is there an attitude/behavorial problem?

This seems to be a very underrated player.
One of our preferred targets in midfield didn't work out but we've had cases before where the 2nd choice/alternative turned out to be a masterstroke- especially under Klopp so maybe this can be one of those situations. Hoping this is a Jota/Robertson situation- both players who none was interested in despite their numbers looking "tidy".

[LiverBirdKop]

Meh. Wish him well.

[AmanShah21]

Like others have indicated- he seems to be a very good footballer and by the looks of it, a decent and tidy player, especially under a press - but it just "hasn't worked out for him".
Why?
A player, especially a midfielder with such stats in any team would surely be one of the guaranteed starters? I mean that's Gini/Thiago levels of performance- if he was at Liverpool.
"Possession Won in middle 3rd" is very interesting as he's 1st in that dept. A passer with DM-type numbers. That will certainly be very useful for us- especially now.

This is strange. Or is there an attitude/behavorial problem?

This seems to be a very underrated player.
One of our preferred targets in midfield didn't work out but we've had cases before where the 2nd choice/alternative turned out to be a masterstroke- especially under Klopp so maybe this can be one of those situations. Hoping this is a Jota/Robertson situation- both players who none was interested in despite their numbers looking "tidy".

Similar to Naby in that he was never fit to get a run of games in him at Juve. The manager change didn't help either as Allegri preferred other options to him. Stats are really not worth much if you only start 10-15 games a season. All that said, he is a neat player and one that I see being the right fit for us as he profiles as an excellent foil for Thiago. Our concern has to be keeping him fit. We need a midfielder who can get a run of games without getting injured.

[Sangria]

So do we have option to buy or not?

We have an option that we're highly unlikely to exercise, so for our purposes it might as well not exist. Like most Italian clauses.

[lamonti]

Cleared to play - good luck with that 😂

[tubby]

Good stuff, we badly need bodies in midfield.

[the_red_pill]

Some interesting info from a more "objective" view:

Arthur is certainly a player of the historical calibre that might be expected to sign for Liverpool. He’s been capped 22 times by Brazil. Over the last four years, he’s spent two with Barcelona and two with Juventus, who paid €72m for him two years ago in a deal which also involved Miralem Pjanić going the other way.

Arthur was never a regular at either of his previous European clubs, but this seems to have been a result of injuries and illness rather than anything else. His list of injuries over the last four years is a pretty extensive one, with such varied causes for his absence as the coronavirus, pubitis (he was dropped by Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde for snowboarding while in recovery), and almost three months out for surgery on his leg over an issue with the membrane between his fibia and tibula. He missed around five weeks of last season thanks to a mixture of illness and injury.

And what Liverpool will be getting is probably exactly what they need. Arthur is ranked in the 97th percentile in Europe’s big top five leagues for pass completion percentage and in the 83rd percentile for progressive carries per 90 minutes. The latter of these is a substantially higher ranking than Henderson, and on a level with Harvey Elliott. He is most readily compared with Thiago, though Liverpool will be hoping that he doesn’t match his injury record.

And it’s worth bearing in mind that this loan was carried out through necessity. Jurgen Klopp will feel that he needs a certain level of ability in the players that he’s going to put out onto the pitch to represent Liverpool, and with his injury crisis being what it is at the moment – they still have eight players out – the fact is that his club had to act quickly.

If Klopp can manage that and keep him free of injury, Liverpool will likely have few reasons to regret their break with the usual transfer policy

https://www.football365.com/news/opinion-liverpool-broke-transfer-policy-arthur-melo-loan-surprise

[Bob Sacamano]

He reminds me an awful lot of Kovacic at Chelsea. It would be interesting to see how the two compare on one of those graphs.

From just watching the video he looks more like modric to me. Kovacic, besides being bigger, has a greater burst of acceleration than either. But all three are wonderful on the ball and have great close control.

[tubby]

Yeah I can kind of see the Kovacic comparisons, but I think he's more direct than Arthur, who is more conservative and keeps things ticking over.

[Ocean Red]

Welcome to Liverpool FC, Arthur Melo   

[RedBec1993]

He’ll be a good player to bring on if we are winning and need to tighten up.

[Red Raw]

He reminds me an awful lot of Kovacic at Chelsea. It would be interesting to see how the two compare on one of those graphs.

At a glance Kovacic is very similar on pases although with less variety and marginally less progressive in terms of possession than the other two. Appears weaker on shooting than Arthur and Thiago but considerably stronger than both defensively.

I can add him to the charts later if I get a minute.

[the_red_pill]

Yeah I can kind of see the Kovacic comparisons, but I think he's more direct than Arthur, who is more conservative and keeps things ticking over.

Yep, I agree that he's more of a Gini/Thiago type. His "Possession Won in middle 3rd" compared with his high percentile in pass completion certainly is a result of your typical midfield heartbeat.
In those clips, he seems to play a teensy bit deeper overall than Elliot, Keita et al. - in other words- in the heart of midfield- just a yard or two ahead of a 6. Although, I'm not sure if this is a result of tactics.

[Samie]

He's seen our midfield today and all that we have currently, time to shine lad. 

[Clint Eastwood]

God, I really hope you’re good for us.

[NaivetyinBlack]

He'll be absolutely critical for us, if we are to do well over this season.

Cannot wait to see him play now.

[DelTrotter]

Thought he should have come on really, was crying out for a midfielder that stays in midfield and just keeps the ball though understandable he didn't given he's not even played a pre season game. Gotta get him minutes somewhere though, hopefully in midweek.

[Hedley Lamarr]

Thought he should have come on really, was crying out for a midfielder that stays in midfield and just keeps the ball though understandable he didn't given he's not even played a pre season game. Gotta get him minutes somewhere though, hopefully in midweek.

Nah, not today, today wasn't really a football match, just a war of attrition. He'll get his chance though, I reckon he'l be aces.

[didi shamone]

I've  never seen him play and have no idea what he brings to the team, but we really missed him today

[RedBec1993]

He seems similar to Thiago/Gini, seen him a couple of times for Barcelona. Klopp gets the best out of any player so hopefully it’s the same with Arthur too.

[BarryCrocker]

@FabrizioRomano
Liverpool will have €37.5m buy option clause for Arthur in June, not mandatory - LFC have negotiated with Juve the possibility of paying the clause in two years. 🔴🇧🇷 #LFC

Arthur has already agreed the potential, future contract in case LFC will trigger the clause.

By the sounds of it the club have made sure to lock terms in with him should they want to make the deal permanent. That's a fair bit of work for a supposed stopgap signing.